Beethoven’s 9th
Saturday, May 4, 2024, at 7:30 PM
Sunday, May 5, 2024, at 2:30 PM
HEMMENS CULTURAL CENTER
Chad Goodman, conductor
Laura Strickling, soprano | Mary Phillips, mezzo-soprano
Thomas Cooley, tenor | Hadleigh Adams, baritone
Elgin Master Chorale
MOZART Ave verum corpus, K. 618
Elgin Master Chorale
JESSIE MONTGOMERY Hymn for Everyone
~ Intermission ~
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 9 in D minor, op. 125
Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso
Molto vivace
Adagio molto e cantabile
Presto-Allegro assai
Laura Strickling, soprano
Mary Phillips, mezzo-soprano
Thomas Cooley, tenor
Hadleigh Adams, baritone
Elgin Master Chorale
This program is supported, in part, by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency
ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL
Violin I
Isabella Lippi
Concertmaster
Eleanor Bartsch
Associate
Concertmaster
Gerald Loughney
Kate Carter
Eric Pidluski
Joseph Malmquist
Susan Carlson
Carol Dylan
Helen Kim Lee
Wendy Evans
Carmen Abelson
Jennifer Leckie
Violin II
Daniela Folker Principal
Robbie Herbst
Assistant Principal
Caroline Slack
Maria Arrua
Susan Thorne
Steve Winkler
Cristina Buciu
Elizabeth Huffman
Kelvin Lin
Meg Lanfear
Kathryn Siegel
Viola
Amanda Grimm Principal
Loretta Gillespie
Assistant Principal
Rebecca Swan
Jason Butler
Erin Rafferty
Sava Velkoff
Susan Posner
Cello
Matthew Agnew Principal
Nazar Dzhuryn
Assistant Principal
Kerena Fox
Mark Kuntz
Robert Weber
Elizabeth Start
Sara Sitzer
Double Bass
Timothy Shaffer Principal
Jeremy Attanaseo Assistant Principal
Susan Sullivan
Gregory Heintz
Jason Niehoff
Flute
Jean Bishop Principal
Scott Metlicka
Piccolo
Scott Metlicka
Oboe
Andrew Port Principal
Joseph Claude
English Horn
Joseph Claude
Clarinet
Gene Collerd Principal
Trevor O’Riordan
Bassoon
Vincent Desantis Principal
Collin Anderson
French Horn
Greg Flint Principal
Steven Replogle
Sharon Jones
Mary Buscanics-Jones
Trumpet
Ross Beacraft Principal
Michael Brozick
David Gauger
Assistant Principal
Trombone
Reed Capshaw Principal
Adam Moen
Bass Trombone
Mark Fry
Tuba
Charles Schuchat Principal
Timpani
Robert Everson Principal
Percussion
Brian Oriente Principal
Michael Folker
ESO BOARD AND ADMINISTRATION
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
R. Bert Crossland Board Chair
Andre Fiebig Immediate Past Board Chair
Robert Chiappetta Treasurer
Rev. Arlyn Tolzmann Secretary
Dr. Patricia Harkin Governance Chair
* Ex Officio members
Harry ◊ & Phyllis Blizzard
DIRECTORS
Alexis India Alm
Ross Beacraft*
Carlos Chavez
Michele Clark
Dr. Gene Crume
Joyce Dlugopolski
Jennifer Fukala
Sandra Hagan
K. Eric Larson
Dr. Thomas Long
Mary Maloy
Frank Maxson
Carole Medal
Martin Nobs
Patrick Parks
Timothy Shaffer*
Dr. Savitha Susarla
James Tammi
Marc Thayer, CEO*
Rafael Villagomez
Herman A. Zwirn
HONORARY LIFETIME DIRECTORS
Edward & Pearle Brody ◊ Dean & Jane Chipman ◊
EXECUTIVE
Marc C. Thayer Chief Executive Officer
Rebecca DeWane Director of Finance & Administration
ARTISTIC
Eric Gaston-Falk Vice President of Artistic Planning & Operations
Macauley Manzano
Orchestral Librarian & Digital Marketing Manager
Richard Collins ◊
Ed & Karen Schock Deceased ◊
ADMINISTRATION
DEVELOPMENT & MARKETING
Chuck Kocal Director of Marketing
Leslie Antoniel Development Consultant
Mitchell Bennett Director of Patron and Community Development
Jonathan Horn Development Coordinator
Donna Lake Public Relations Manager
Erica Warszewik
Box Office Manager
Pia Laipert Foundation, Corporate and Government Grants
OPERATIONS
David Goldman Stage Manager
Eric Block Stage Manager
Elsa Jimenez Translator
LaTrisha Williams In Harmony Program Coordinator
ELGIN MASTER CHORALE
Sopranos
Jan Andresen
Kristen Balisi
Terry Bauer
Samantha Breen
Marilyn DeStefano
Lauren Holmer
Andrea Kleban
Leslie Marcordes
Magen McCarthy
Diane McDonald
Susan Miller
Karen Neidlinger
Michele Neidlinger
Melissa Pagano- Arndt
Cheri Panzloff
Kathryn Petricca
ColleenPrice
Elizabeth Roberts
Gail Rossow
Kelsey Rubin
Kathy Rubino
Diana Seymour
Victoria Strissel
Ashley Storinger
Katrina Teas
Mary Ulery
Allie Vargas
Rosalyn Wesley
Altos
Dina Ackermann
Patricia Aurand
Samantha Beckmann
Kimberly Bianchi
Alison Bleick
Karen Brhel
Saffron Bruno
Margaret Cannizzaro
Christine Dalphy
Elizabeth Dooley
Marcia Harran
Sarah Henry
Robin Hladky-Fox
Gwen Holst
Jennifer Kaap
Marilyn Keblusek
Caryn Kingseed
Rachel E. Maley
Linda Mueller
Melinda Oakey
Kaitlyn Pacchini
Carol Rechtoris
Christine Ross
Melissa Routzahn
Moira Savel
Diane Schael
Kathy Shaughnessy
Erin Smith
Laurie Stivers
Kori Stoll
Irene Strejc
Lisa Styles
Dorothy Voigt
Christy Williamson
Luann Zanzola
Tenors
Deb Anderson
Scott Gates
Geoffrey Garner
Keith Guimon
Philip McPeek
Nicholas Metzger
Lisa Michnick
Keith Murphy
Ken Prazak
Eric Skalinder
Matthew Stone
Kermit Swanson
Geoff Thevenot
Cheri Walter
Basses
Bob Acker
Mark Clemens
Tom Fox
Chris Johnson
Brian Karzen
Arnie Klehm
Alberto Mantovano
Robert Martin
Dennis Rossow
Burch Seymour
Jay Smith
Daniel Spike
Franz Stockmann
MUSIC DIRECTOR
Chad Goodman has received widespread praise for thrilling conducting that combines “precision, agility and fervor” (N. Stanić Kovačevic, South Florida Classical Review) and for displaying the “pitch perfect combination of abandon and subtlety” (L. Budman, South Florida Classical Review).
The 2023/24 season marks Goodman’s inaugural season as Music Director of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra only the fifth leader in the orchestra’s prestigious seven-decade history. Concerts with the ESO include Strauss’ Four Last Songs with soprano Christine Brewer, Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5, Schumann’s Piano Concerto with Orli Shaham and Beethoven’s Symphonies No. 2 and No. 9.
Goodman holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music and a Master of Music degree from San Francisco State University. His mentors include Michael Tilson Thomas and Alasdair Neale.
ARTISTA INVIDATO
Elgin Master Chorale
The Elgin Master Chorale (EMC) is a cultural cornerstone of Elgin and the Fox Valley. Under the direction of Music Director Andrew Lewis, EMC is comprised of approximately 90 adult singers - admitted by audition only - who share a passion for choral masterworks and other fine choral repertoire. EMC was formed in 1947, under the name Elgin Choral Union, when singers from fifteen local choirs joined together to perform Brahms’ German Requiem.
EMC creates collaborations with local performing arts organizations such as the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, the Maud Powell String Quartet, Chamber Music on the Fox, Ballet Folklorico
Huehuecoyotl, Second Baptist Church Choir, and many others that elevate and energize the community.
EMC produces an annual educational outreach concert, free of charge, for fourth – sixth grade area students, created specifically for their engagement, education, and artistic enjoyment. In this way, area students learn to value the arts as an integral part of their growth and a path to achieving their full potential.
EMC performs many free concerts each year at Gail Borden Public Library, at Elgin’s Memorial Day observance, and at Elgin City Council’s New Citizens Recognition Ceremony. Civic celebrations, such as these, inspire and unite the community and are especially meaningful to members.
EMC, in its 77th season, is proud of its rich history, dedicated singers, and drive to excel. EMC has grown from its valued roots as a "union" of choirs and is dedicated to the mission of being the premiere vocal ensemble in the Fox Valley.
Laura Strickling, soprano
Two-time GRAMMY®-nominated soprano
Laura Strickling has been recognized by The New York Times for her “flexible voice, crystalline diction, and warm presence.” Celebrated for her work performing and promoting art song, with an emphasis on new additions to the canon, she curated The New Music Shelf Anthology of contemporary art songs for soprano and has collaborated with numerous composers including Tom Cipullo, Daniel Felsenfeld, Juliana Hall, Libby Larsen, James Matheson, John Musto, and Glen Roven. She is on the roster of the Brooklyn Art Song Society, and has appeared with Cincinnati Song Initiative, Mexicoliederfest, Calliope’s Call, Liederfest in Suzhou (China), the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, Lyric Fest, Joy in Singing, Trinity Concerts at One, the American Liszt Society, Baltimore Lieder Weekend, the Half Moon Music Festival, Concerts on the Slope, National Sawdust, Art Song at the Old Stone House, the Brooklyn New Music Collective,
SongFusion, was a featured performer at the 2016 New Music Gathering, and presented a radio broadcast recital of American songs on “Live from WFMT” in Chicago with pianist Daniel Schlosberg.
Ms. Strickling received critical acclaim in the Naxos Opera Classics recording of The Parting by Tom Cipullo (co-starring baritone Michael Mayes and mezzo-soprano Catherine Cook) for her “…deeply expressive, secure voice. Her exposed highs are managed wonderfully, with notable beauty.” James Matheson’s Times Alone on Yarlung Records was hailed by MusicWeb International for “shapely, nuanced voicings and emotional urgency...a striking directness.” Glen Roven’s The Vineyard Songs with pianist Michael Brofman is on New Voices, the Billboard Classical Top-Ten-selling CD. She can also be heard on “New American Song@SongFest,”, performing Jake Heggie’s Edna St. Vincent Millay with pianist Dimitri Dover, and on The Garden: Songs and Vocal Chamber Music of Tom Cipullo, performing the landmark song cycle Of a Certain Age with pianist Liza Stepanova. Her first solo recording project of American art song, Confessions with pianist Joy Schreier, was nominated for a 2020 GRAMMY® Award.
A Chicago native, Ms. Strickling is an avid traveler, having lived in Morocco, where she studied classical Arabic at the Arabic Language Institute of Fez, and Kabul, Afghanistan, where her husband was the founding chair of the Department of Law at the American University of Afghanistan. She currently makes her home in St. Thomas, U. S. Virgin Islands.
Mary Phillips, mezzo-soprano
With a voice that has been called “pure gold,” and dramatic gifts that place her in the first rank of singer-actors, American mezzo-soprano Mary Phillips is closely associated with the music of Wagner. She sings many mezzo roles in the Ring cycle and made her acclaimed role debut as Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde for Dallas Opera, as well as returning to the Metropolitan Opera as Schwertleite in Die
Walküre, in which she also covered the role of Fricka. She has sung Fricka and Waltraute in Die Walküre and Waltraute in Götterdämmerung at Canadian Opera; Erda in the Scottish Opera’s Ring, and Wellgunde and Rossweise in Seattle Opera’s Ring cycles.
Ms. Phillips has also been hailed for her Verdi; she made her Met debut in La forza del destino, and her San Francisco Opera debut in Rigoletto. Of her performances of Princess Eboli in Don Carlo, a role she has sung for Austin, Canadian, Sarasota and Vancouver Operas, Vancouver Sun said “she deserves an opera best supporting actress Oscar: vocally confident and theatrically practiced, she is a singer/actress of power and stature.” She has also sung Azucena in Il trovatore at the Seattle Opera and Arizona. Of her Amneris in Aida, one reviewer wrote, “in this difficult role requiring agility, a wide vocal range and emotional strength, Phillips poured her heart and voice into it.” Recent and upcoming seasons have featured Phillips with The Metropolitan Opera (Rusalka/Jezibaba), Edmonton Opera (Salome/Herodias), Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (Tristan und Isolde/Brangane), New York City Opera (In the Garden of the Finzi-Continis) and Opera Birmingham (Gertrude/ Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet). Other recent engagements of note include Jezibaba in Dvorak’s Rusalka with the Metropolitan Opera and roles in Strauss’s Elektra with the Metropolitan Opera and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at both Symphony Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York.
Ms. Phillips maintains a strong interest in Baroque repertoire. On the opera stage this has included Sesto in Giulio Cesare in Barcelona and Eduige in Rodelinda for Dallas Opera. Concert appearances include Messiah at Carnegie Hall and with the Atlanta Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, and Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon, as well as with the Seattle Symphony, with whom she has also performed Bach's Mass in B Minor. She has sung the Vivaldi Gloria at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and has recorded the Bach Magnificat for Boston Baroque.
Thomas Cooley, tenor
With an acclaimed international performance career spanning over two decades, tenor Thomas Cooley continues to set the standard in his field, delivering memorable performances across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. These performances have taken him to 30 different states across the United States and to numerous countries worldwide.
Cooley has made noteworthy appearances in major concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw, Konzerthaus Berlin, Berlin Philharmonie, Tonhalle Zürich, Symphony Hall Boston, Avery Fisher Hall, Konzerthaus Vienna, Walt Disney Hall, Kennedy Center, Bavarian State Opera, Tchaikovsky Hall Moscow, and the KKZ Lucerne, Festival Hall Osaka, and Singapore’s Esplanade Hall, and has collaborated with numerous distinguished conductors such as Helmuth Rilling, Donald Runnicles, Teodor Currentzis, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Nicholas McGegan, Robert Spano, Franz WelserMöst, Bernard Labadie, Harry Bicket, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Osmo Vänskä, Eiji Oue, Lan Shui, Matthew Halls, David Robertson, Dame Jane Glover, Markus Stenz, Carlo Rizzi, Thomas Søndergård, Manfred Honneck, Jaap van Zweden, Edo de Waart, Paul McCreesh and Andrea Marcon.
Renowned as an expert in the works of Handel and J.S. Bach, particularly in the role of the Evangelist, Cooley has performed this repertoire with renowned ensembles such as the Thomanerchor and Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, the Windsbacher Knabenchor and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, the Dresdener Kreuzchor and the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart. He also performs regularly with historically informed groups such as Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Göttingen and Halle Handel Festivals, Les Violons du Roy, MusicAeterna, Tafelmusik, Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, the Carmel and Oregon Bach Festivals, Pacific MusicWorks, Music of the Baroque and the Munich Bach Choir. Cooley has a close working relationship with the Baroque specialist Nicholas McGegan, with whom he has performed over one hundred times
at the Göttingen Händelfestspiele, with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and with leading orchestras all across the United States, as well as numerous CD recordings.
Thomas Cooley's discography includes 20 recordings with labels such as Carus, CPO, Deutsche Grammophon, Hänssler, MDG, Orchid Classics and Sony. An upcoming recording of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, under the baton of Nicholas McGegan, is planned for Avie Records 2025.
Hadleigh Adams, baritone
New Zealand baritone Hadleigh Adams has amassed a body of work remarkable in its breadth. Committed to both the concert and opera stage, he has collaborated with some of the world’s finest artists.
On the concert stage he has performed as a soloist with the London Philharmonia Orchestra under Esa Pekka Salonen, the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel, the San Francisco Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under Robert Spano, the San Francisco Opera Orchestra under Nicola Luisotti, and Philharmonia Baroque under Nicholas McGegan. He has also performed with the American Bach Soloists, Seattle Symphony, Nashville Symphony, and Colorado Symphony. Renowned for his Handel, he has performed Messiah more than 120 times.
In traditional operatic repertoire Mr. Adams has performed a wide range of characters in a variety of musical styles: Ravel under the baton of Esa Pekka Salonen, Bernstein under Marin Alsop and Michael Tilson Thomas and Louis Langree, Handel under Nicholas McGegan, Puccini under Nicola Luisotti, Mozart under the stage direction of Sir Thomas Allen, Handel under the stage direction of Christopher Alden, and Puccini under the stage direction of Les Miserables director, John Caird. His European debut was at London’s Royal National Theatre in a staged production of Bach’s St Matthew Passion, playing the role of
Jesus, and directed by Sir Jonathan Miller. With the San Francisco Opera alone he has appeared in 19 mainstage productions, and during the 2022 season, he made his 100th performance with the company.
Upcoming engagements include performances of Britten’s War Requiem, Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony, Mozart’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, Schmidt's The Book with Seven Seals, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, and Handel’s Messiah and Partenope with organizations including the Dallas and Houston Symphonies, San Francisco Opera, the Wellington Orchestra, the Brisbane Philharmonia and the Choral Society of Grace Church at Carnegie Hall.
PROGRAM NOTES
Written by - Daniel Maki
Ave verum corpus, K. 618
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91)
Mozart’s Ave verum corpus (Hail the true body) might be described as a brief 5-minute work, containing just 46 bars of music for 4-part chorus and string orchestra. That prosaic description fails to mention that those 46 bars combine a kind of child-like innocence and simplicity with the most sublime religious sentiment in a way that very few composers have ever been able to match. Mozart would die in December of 1791 after a particularly difficult year. He had fallen into financial trouble and worried constantly about being able to support his family. His wife Constanze was pregnant for the sixth time and in early June went to Baden, a spa near Vienna, to “take the waters,” as the phrase goes. Mozart went to visit her in the middle of the month and in two days had dashed off his 46-bar masterpiece as a gift to Anton Stoll, organist and choirmaster of the parish church of Baden. Stoll was a close friend and admirer of the composer, often performing his music and dropping in on Constanze to assist with medical needs on her frequent visits to the spa. It is most likely that the new work was performed by Stoll on June 23, the Feast of Corpus Christi. The distinguished critic and author Michael Steinberg brilliantly captured the spirit of the work when he called it “the
essence of simplicity. The harmonies are plain, the texture hardly less so, yet in his whole life chronologically so short, artistically so long Mozart never invented anything more affecting than these forty-six perfect measures.”
* * *
Hymn for Everyone
Jessie Montgomery (b. 1981)
As young people have always done, members of what we have come to call the “millennial generation" have already made their impression on the world in many ways, and music is no exception. Jessie Montgomery, for example, began to attract attention already in her early twenties and today enjoys a remarkably successful career as composer, violinist and teacher. Born to a musician father and an actress/writer mother, she grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan at a time when that neighborhood was a hotbed of social and artistic experiment. She went on to receive a degree in violin performance from the Juilliard School as well as an advanced degree in Film and Multimedia Composition from New York University. All these factors familial, social, and academic have influenced her work, which combines rigorous classical training with elements of jazz, vernacular, and improvisation, as well as a commitment to social awareness.
As a violinist, she has been a member of several string quartets and has performed with the Silkroad Ensemble, founded by Yo-Yo Ma. As composer, her work is being performed by many major ensembles and she has won numerous grants and awards, including the Leonard Bernstein Award from the ASCAP Foundation.
In April of 2021 she was appointed Mead Composer-inResidence of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a three-year position that would grant her commissions for three works. As most of humankind surely remembers, April of 2021 was a difficult time for most of us, and creative artists like Jessie Montgomery had to struggle with all the effects of the pandemic in addition to her own artistic situation. At that time she was experiencing a sort of writer’s block as she reached her 40th birthday, and also had to deal with the trauma of her mother’s death. Genuine artists manage to work their way through such problems and Ms. Montgomery did so in inspired fashion. Instead of the multi-movement work that she had
planned, she opted for a simpler approach that would meet the needs of the moment. In her own program notes, she describes the process:
“Hymn for Everyone is based on a hymn that I wrote in the spring of 2021 that was a reflection on personal and collective challenges that were happening at the time. Up until that time I had resisted writing ‘response pieces’ to the pandemic and social-political upheaval and had been experiencing an intense writer’s block.
But one day, after a long hike, this hymn just came to me— a rare occurrence. The melody traverses through different orchestral ‘choirs’ and is accompanied by the rest of the ensemble. It is a kind of meditation for orchestra, exploring various washes of color and timbre through each repetition of the melody. “
The work that resulted is a carefully wrought and moving composition that seems to have provided a cathartic effect not only for its composer but for its audience as well. * * *
Symphony No. 9 in D minor, op. 125 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Few works in music history have exerted as wide an influence, been as much discussed, argued about, deeply revered, and both imitated and strongly reacted against, as the last of Beethoven’s symphonies. Within its enormous shadow have gathered innumerable listeners who have been deeply moved by its revolutionary pantheistic and utopian sentiment as well as those who have found such ideals to be hollow and unattainable. There have been many distinguished critics who have considered the Ninth to be one of Beethoven’s greatest technical achievements, and those who thought the very idea of the choral finale a great mistake. (Not to mention those who, like Verdi, thought the vocal writing to be simply incompetent.)
From all this ferment, however, has emerged a consensus which views the Ninth as one of the great monuments of the human spirit as well as a kind of summation of Beethoven’s work and worldview. From his boyhood on, Beethoven had been strongly
influenced by the Enlightenment principles which eventually led to the French Revolution and which were frequently expressed in the works of the poet and dramatist Friedrich Schiller. The idea of setting Schiller’s Ode to Joy had occurred to him while he was in early twenties, and he wrestled with a number of possible versions at various times throughout his career. The final setting, completed and first performed in 1824, was thus the realization of a lifetime of thought and experimentation.
Although the Ninth Symphony can be heard simply as a work of pure music, its extramusical connotations have played an important part in its history. It is no accident that the Ode to Joy theme has for decades served as the theme of the European Union or that Leonard Bernstein chose the Ninth as the work to be performed in Berlin on the occasion of the dismantling of the Berlin Wall. (He took the liberty of changing the word Freude—“Joy”—to Freiheit—“Freedom.”) It is no exaggeration to say that at the time of its creation the Ninth was, at least to some degree, a political statement as well as an artistic one. After years of Napoleonic warfare, the Congress of Vienna in 1815 resulted in a redesign of the map of Europe and the introduction of a new wave of repressive conservatism. In his recent book The Ninth Beethoven and the World in 1824, Harvey Sachs points out that other artists working at the time such as the poets Heinrich Heine and Alexander Pushkin were censored and threatened with exile or worse by their respective governments for their expression of liberal sentiments. Although Beethoven was never threatened to that extent, the Austria in which he lived had become through the efforts of Prince Metternich one of the earliest examples of the modern police state. As an important public figure, Beethoven’s liberal views were well known, and the enormous emotional power of the Ninth symphony would certainly have served as a ringing affirmation of his viewpoint.
At the risk of using a cliché much abused by high school valedictorians, one might say that in strictly musical terms the Ninth Symphony was both an end and a beginning. Contrary to popular opinion, Beethoven did not completely abandon classical principles of composition in his last works. In many ways the Ninth Symphony is a return to the heroic style of Beethoven’s middle period, remaining faithful to such classical forms as the sonata and theme and variation. At the same time, although the Ninth can be heard as the last gasp of classicism, its novelty cannot be denied. Its huge proportions and dramatic effects were clearly precursors of a strain of musical romanticism which would think of the
symphony as the grandest of all genres and which would culminate in the immense late romantic symphonies of Bruckner and Mahler.
The broodingly mysterious opening measures of the first movement came to be one of the most widely imitated passages in nineteenth century music. We hear open fifths, only two of the three notes necessary to form a complete chord. By withholding the all-important third, which alone can determine whether a chord is major or minor, Beethoven gives us a preview of what is to come. The entire tragic first movement is a struggle between major and minor keys, with the darkness of minor winning out.
The feeling of mystery and tragedy continues into the scherzo, which, unlike Beethoven’s usual practice, occurs here as the second rather than the third movement. The word scherzo means “joke” in Italian, but here the humor seems to be of a cosmic and, at times, almost demonic sort. Beethoven does display wit in the very opening of the movement (his sense of humor has all too often been underestimated), by deftly parodying the famous opening of the first movement. Adding greatly to the somewhat sardonic humor is the fact that one of the notes is given to the timpani, which, incidentally, plays an important role throughout the entire movement.
After all this storm and stress Beethoven finally gives us relief in the beautiful slow third movement, which consists of variations on two themes. In this movement, which the great Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini said should be conducted “on one’s knees,” Beethoven seems to picture a better world, whose peace is far removed from the turbulence of the opening two movements.
This Arcadian bliss is rudely shattered, however, by what German musicians call the Schreckensfanfare (“Fanfare of Terror”). Frightfully dissonant chords announce the beginning of the fourth movement, whose gigantic proportions constitute almost an entire four movement symphony in itself. Beethoven the modernist gives us a kind of cinematic flashback technique, in which brief passages from each of the first three movements are heard in quick succession, reminding us of what has gone before. Finally, quietly and tentatively, the low strings sound for the first time the simple, noble theme that has become one of the world’s best-known melodies. After several statements of the theme, terror returns once again, but this time is answered for the first time by a human voice, as a solo baritone sings: “O friends, not these tones: rather let us sing more pleasant ones.” The discord thus banished, the noble words of the Ode to Joy begin.
The remainder of this complex movement unfolds with nearly unparalleled majesty, Among its parts are variations on the familiar theme already heard ; a folksy passage in the so-called “Turkish” style, popular in Vienna at the time, featuring bass drum, cymbals, triangle, and piccolo; a wonderful orchestral interlude consisting of a magnificent double fugue; and an entirely new theme on the words Seid umschlungen, Millionen (“Millions, be embraced”), which seems to reach the limits of sublimity. Along the way, Beethoven strains the human voice to its limits, sending some of the vocal parts into stratospheric ranges, almost as if to say that mere human beings cannot achieve the majesty of his conception.
As mentioned above, the final impression of this colossal movement has struck many listeners in many different ways. Beethoven’s distinguished biographer, Lewis Lockwood, has described his reaction as follows: “By using Schiller’s Ode to directly address humanity at large, Beethoven conveys the struggle of both the individual and of the millions to work their way through experience from tragedy to idealism and to preserve the image of human brotherhood as a defense against the darkness.” When the magnificent climactic coda of the Ninth Symphony brought the first performance to a close on 7 May 1824 at the Kärntnertor Theater in Vienna, the audience leapt to its feet. Music was never again the same.
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David & Carlene Kellenberger
Elizabeth Hoeft
Suzanne E. Johnson
Kairos Counseling Center
Loretta Kandl
Dr. & Mrs. James
Mansfield
Barbara Maring & Robert
Kulefsky
Carole Medal
Nancy V. Rascher
Stephen & Linda Knight
Mark R. Kuntz
Peter & Constance
Landwehr
Eric Larson & Margaret Williams
Elizabeth A. Littel
Carolyn & Robert Malm
Marquardt of Barrington
Russ & Diane Maxwell
Mike & Marilyn McCarthy
McGrath Volvo Cars
Barrington
Dr. Elizabeth McKay
Joan Moen
Helen G. Moore
Monica & Sanford
Morganstein
Motor Werks, Inc
John & Josephine
Muchmore
A. John Mullins
Rick & Nancy Nelson
Marsha Newcomer
David Olsen & Jim
Weidman
Meg & George Peirce
Ernie & Joanne Perone
Erik & Nelleke Roffelsen
Suzanne & Henry Rozycki
Rob & Jodie Stackowiak
Cherry Stoddard
Rev. Arlyn & Jeanne Tolzmann
Tyndale House Publishers
Philip J. Zack
John Pilsits
Richard W. Renner
Erin Riehle
Mr. & Mrs. Richard
Robertson
Lois Robinson
John & Carole Ruby
Patricia Sekowski
Tim Shaffer
Drs. April & Frank Smith
Helen Wuu Sprague, in memory of Dr. Pat Clark (voice teacher in 1992)
Adam & Laura Gray
Cheryl Stocks
Carol Taylor
Marc Thayer
American Association of University Women
Aimee Virnig, In Honor of Rylan Virnig
Wickstrom Auto Group
St. Charles Bank & Trust Company
Charles & Nancy
Zimmerman
Anonymous – 4
$500-999
Robert Acker & Alison
Bleick
Alexander's Restaurant
Helen Anderson
Herb & Marge Anderson
Michael & Cecilia
Anderson
Allan F. Ayers
Donna Bach
Lisa & Tim Baran
Ross Beacraft
Anna Bicanic Moeller
Connie Bischof
Mr.& Mrs. Ray B.
Boroughf
Melinda Borum
Anne L. Burman
Mr. & Mrs. Robert L.
Cabeen
Tatiana Calhamer
Robert Chiappetta
Ann Chipman & Greg
Kuepfer
John & Stephanie Cullian
Michael Czerwionka
Warren Dahn
Michael Patrick Dempsey
Therese & Patrick
Donoghue
Matt & Cherie Dorfman
Pat & Terry Dunning
Elizabeth J. Murphy, CPA
Mary Ellen Flaks
Nancy Fleming
Ms. Jeanne M. Fox
Karl H. Gabbey
Terry Gabel & Sue
Brigham
Robert & Lynn Gilly
Richard Goodman
Judy & Gary Griffith, in memory of Amy
Goodman, and honor of Chad Goodman
Vivian J. Hileman
Kathryn Huffman
Mary Hunter
Jim & Pat Jocius
Rev. Janet & Allen
Kennedy
Allen S. Kennedy
Sharon LeCount
Ms. Jane Lehmann
Barbara R. Long
Mary E. Maloy
Candace D. McCreary
Ruth-Ann McKellin
Loni Mecum
Diane Elaine Neal
Dr. & Mrs. Jeffrey R.
Neufeld
Neel Patel
Chery Peacock
Jean Pechtel
Glen & Beth Prezembel
Quintessential Media Group
The Miller Charitable Fund, a Donor Advised
Fund of Renaissance
Charitable Foundation
Richard & Carol Leonard
Foundation
Michael & Robin
Rothamer
Thomas & Barbara Rowan
Howard & Gene Royer
Jay & Debbie Schroeder
Mark & Ellen Sheppard
Melissa & Brian Sherman
Bruce & Kathleen
Sicklesteel
Norma Smith
Glenn & Susan Spachman
Jon Hauser & Jean Stone
Savitha Susarla
Elmer & Mary Sweet
James & Judith Tammi
Hal & Karen Theis
Fred & Sue Thorne
Celine Voris
Richard Renner & Jacqueline Vossler
David C. Waring
Anita J. Werderich
Mr. & Mrs. Larry Wild
Norman Wilkinson & Diana March
Ron Clayton & Elyse Williamson
W. R. Meadows, Inc.
Jan & Bob Andry
Restoration 1 of Cary
Anonymous
$250-499
Melanie S. Abercrombie
Diane J. Aitken
Mark S. Albert
Ms. Sharon Aleckson
Douglas Anderson
Ms. Sara Ellen Anderson
Judith & Norm Andrews
Mr. James Bachman
Donald Bak
Mr. & Mrs. John Becker
Charles & Marlene Black
Ronald Blake
Robert & Susan Blassick
Carol Blohm
Marlene R. Boncosky
Barbara A. Bonner
Edward & Phyllis Boyd
Dale Adai Braun
Ms. Joan Brody
Charles Burnidge
Colin C. & Glorianne
Campbell
Michael & Biana Castro
Mr. & Mrs. Louis Cella
Lillian Croke
Dellora A. Norris Cultural
Arts Center
Julie Domagalski
Jerry & Judy
Drommerhausen
Mr. & Mrs. Stephen
Etherington
Bonnie A Fitzpatrick
Jennifer Fukala
Sherri & Jeff Goodlove
Lorraine R. Gornick
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Green
Ben & Corinne
Grotenhuis
Sharon Hahn
Wayne Heinmiller
Brian & Bonnie Pritchard
Jeanne Hintz
Dr. Judith Hopkins
Lynn & Craig Horswill, in memory of Robert Janas
Phil & Pat Johnson
Frank & George-Ann
Kahoun
Bonnie Kalaway
Nancy Kawasaki
Michele Keehan
Ron & Angela Keller
Susan Kennedy
Frank & Colleen Kirkaldy
William & Agnes Kovacs
Douglas C. Kramp
Jim & Sue Lamb
Joseph Lampinen
Mr. & Mrs. Robert
Larrabee
Richard & Patricia Lutz
Ms. Sandra Magana, in memory of Vera Lochnar
Lynn Mall
Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Malm
Robert & Mary McCann
J. A. McDonald
James McNamee
Anonymous
Mr. & Mrs. Pat Nelson
Linda O'Connor
Linda O'Gara
John & Marilyn Ortinau
Janet Page
Jim & Kathy Pluymert
The Peter Quinn Family
Mr. & Mrs. Michael
Rawlings
Maureen A. Resheske
Wayne & Eileen Reznicek
Gail Rhodes
Gail & Dennis Rossow
Nancy Rust
Mr. & Mrs. Clifford
Scheifele
Jody Schmeck & Robert
Seltzer
Richard Schwemm
Luanne Scola & Joseph
Scola
James & Kathy Secora
Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Sersen
Maria Arrua & Matthew
Sheppard
Curt Siegel
Bonita S. Skapyak
Beverly Smithberger
William & Roseann
Stenzel
Linda Stolt
Jane C. Taylor
Michael Tellin
George R. Theros
Louise Tiemann
Linda Ugo
Vanhoeven & VanHoeven, LTD
Deb Vensel
Aileen & Gregory Vogel
Dorothy Voigt
Hon. Bonnie M. Wheaton
Tom & Linda Youngren
John T. Zawada
Anonymous - 3
Susan J. Allen
Sandra Horvath Hagan, in honor of Patricia Harkin
Donald & Carol Andler
Mary Jo Thelander
Glenn Aquino
Devonna Armstrong
Art for All
Nancy Bachmann
Milan Bagel
Allan & Dorothy Barker
Joyce Helen Barker
Trey R. Barker
Patricia Becklinger
Jean Biddulph
Ruth Bjorvik
BMO Commerical Bank
Ms. Judith Boldt
Maija Boriss
Mr. Brady & Ms.
Gladstone
Marylin Breiding
Don & Joan Brozick
Diane Brucato
Renata & Larry Bruce
Rachel Campbell
Ruth & Ken Carlson
Rita Carmody
James Ceithaml & Marty
Owens
Carlos & Flor Chavez
Richard Clute
Robert H. Coleman
James & Rita Corbett
Christine Dalphy
B.L. Daniell
Darryl Deardorff
John Dempsey
Joan DerHovsepian
James E. Dixon
Sharyle Doherty
Joy Y. Duerr
Lillian Croke
Jennifer C. Durot
Rosemary Dyson
Joyce & Tom Egan
Mary Ellen Endo
Karen Erickson
Patti Esposito
Joseph & Linda Fagan
Larry & Linda Fass
In Memory of Mary C.
Morton
Kerena Fox
Barbara E. Furman
Douglas Gagne, In Loving
Memory of Mike and Pat
Schaefer
Julie M. Galloway
Alice M. Garrison
Ruth Ann Garrison
Robert Kevin Garro
Mark & Sheila Gartland
David Gentner
Brian Godish
Ben Douglas Gay & Lene
F. Graff
Katherine J. Graffagna
Charles & Linda Gruber
Ryan & Renee Heitman
David & Mary Alice
Helms
Laureen Hildebrand
Brian L. Hopkinson, in memory of Laura C. Small
Erica Jimenez
Tom & Claire Johannesen, in memory of Phyllis
Ziegler
Judy Johnson & Blair
Stringfellow, in honor of
Dave & Suzanne Johnson
Mildred Johnson
Janet Jones
Suzanne Jongleux
Stephen R. Kammerer
Oliver Keckeis
Ken & Martha Kemp
Judith Kendall
Terri Elizabeth King
Linda L. Kirn
Peter Koenig
Ms. Carole Konetzki
Terri & Tom Lamberti
Philip Lambruschi
Nancy Lamia
John & Pat Lenz
Helen Lindow
In Honor of Jeanne Sigman
Joan Longmire
Leslie Mabbott
Grant & Patricia
MacDonald
Daniel & Karen Maki
Aaron Marsh
Marty & Marian McGowan
Marc Mellits
Jane C. Miller
Dr. Michael Montgomery
& Rev. Peggy McClanahan
Mr. C. Brian Hale
Barbara M. Mueller
Linda Munson
Catherine L. Murschel
Jane & Raymond
Mysliwiec
Ms. Paula Mytych
Tom & Mary Neubacher
Ms. Sue Noller
Clare M. Ollayos, D.C., in memory of Jeanne Hebeisen
Roy & Sandra Olson
Carolyn O'Neal
Karen Owen, in honor of
Danielle and Michael Folker
Patrick & Diane Parks
Hilda B. Price
Carol Rauschenberger
Felicite H. Regan
Mrs. Howard Reinert
Hans Peter Riehle
$100-249
Doreen L. Rodgers
John Rosenkrans
Magda Roth
Carol Rupe
Gregg & Anita Steamer
David A. Schroeder
Mr. Charles Schuchat
Diane Schwemm, in honor of Richard & Mary Schwemm
Malvern Seagren
Margaret Sekowski
Pradip Sethi
$1-99
Ms. Joyce Allyn
Mrs. Tracy Altheide
Lesslie N. Amaya
John Ambrose
Iris L. Anderson
James J. Auchinleck
Judy Beaver
Laura Bedolla
Carol J. Bergmann
Mr. & Mrs. Wayne E.
Bessette
Michelle Beutlich
Del Bishop
Diane C. Bronis
Paul Bruggeman
Russ & Pam Buckardt
Marcia & Bill Cameron
Mr. & Mrs. Campbell
Katherine Canick, in memory of Marvin Garber
Dale Art Carlson
Jay & Terry Carman
Meta Carroll
Mark J. Chandler
Clare M. Ollayos, D.C., In memory of Ed and Pearle
Brody
Colette J. Cox
Jean Crisler
Donna Danielson
Trent Davies
Jeanne Shagg
Linda Siete
John Simko
Joe Slezinger
Barb & Dennis
Lorece Smith, in Memory of Vera Locknar
Jane E. Sorensen, in memory of Marvin Garber
Jim & Susan Spengler
John Steffen & Kerin
Kelly
Mary E. Tabatt
Julie Deines
Alain & Robert Covell
Joseph R. Delorier
Allan J. Dempsey
John M. Devine
Capt. Thomas Dillon
Joseph Dreas
Frank K. Dreier
Mr. & Mrs. Willard
Dulabaum
Rita A. Ehrenberg
Gabriele Ertmann
Cynthia Febles
Andrea Fiebig
Mary Kay Gabrielsen
Sharon G. Cohen
Joan M. Gazdic
Give With Bing
THe Giving Back Fund, Inc
Berdie Gladstone
Leonardo Andre Godoy
Bulnes
John M. Goles
Lois A. Gombar
Grant Goodman
Maralee Gordon
Mary Jo Gotham
Margaret Graham
Rev. & Rev. Carl &
Donna Gray
Jeanine & Kurt Thurmaier
Greg Tipps
Stephen Tousey
Sue & Bill Toussaint
John David Tuerck
Serge & Constance Ucetta
Rose & Xavier Velasco
John G. Vermillion
Steve Wasilowski
Paul & Janice Weber
Margaret Zawadzki, in honor of Vera Locknar
Anonymous - 2
Robert W. Hafer
William Harrison
Jonathan Horn
Michael & Kathleen Hurd
Mary Jaeger
Robert F. Johnson
Nancy Kading
Jerome Karp
Kenneth Kastler
Nancy L. Kaye
Jara Kern
Gitta Kessler
Caryn Kingseed
Carolyn Kirk-Likou & Manny Likou
Ms. Glenda Klein
Janis Kohm
Ron & Angela Korbitz
Kendra Kroiss
Dale Kuypers
John Lanciloti
Heidi Lapin
Gaile A. Lapinas
Elinor A. Levin
John M. Licht
Robert A. Lindsey
Mary Catherine Long
Miriam Anderson Lytle
Janet B. Marks
Linda McDaniel-Hale
Linda Meyer
Scott J. Mische
Kathy Mizgalski, in
memory of Lee Gerke
Pamela Ann Morong
Linda Mueller
Carmel Mullally-Powers
Darlene Musur
Carla C. Nassif
Suzanne Ness
Robertt Obernesser
Joseph Obrien
Cheryl Oie
Cesar Guillermo Olivares
Frank S. Orto
Sandhya Paka
Diana J. Palcowski
Mary Rose Pavese
Jacqueline Perkins
Paula Ludmann
Paulette M. Perry
Allen E. Pollack
Ken Portnoy
Dori Poulos
Michael G. Prais
Mr. & Mrs. Herb Rangl
Carol Rechtoris
Britta Reinertsen
Nancy K. Richardson
Clifford Rot
Michael J. Roth
Marcia Rudin
Marie Rutter
Brian Sato
Cathy Schmidt
John D. Schwartz
Chelsea Sheppard
Rebecca K. Shorter
Alan Simonds
Mr. & Mrs. John Skura
Mrs. Patricia Small
George & Jan Soderberg
Marilyn Stanciu
Mark S
St. John's Lutheran School
Newton Suwe
Susan Swartz
Mary Ellen Thielemann
Donna A. Tieberg
Roger W. Tilbrook
Andrea & Matthew
Tolzmann
Amy K. Tull
Ms. Kathy Tull
George Vroustouris
Joseph & Jeannette Wars
Robert F. Watt
Jennifer Whitney
Karen J. Wildner
Ursula Wilson
Bruce Wozny
Kay Louise Wych
Mary Wyers
Steven & Peggy Youngren
Margaret Zucco
Anonymous – 5
